The true key to real success in our health, work, schooling, relationships– you name it– is nurturing our souls by giving them over to our Savior each and everyday. This key verse challenges us and reveals to us that a person who meditates in Jesus daily will have a life removed from shame, sadness, and fears. When we submit to God, we find true purpose, clarity, and ultimate joy. This is the challenge we wake up to each and every morning. The way we face this challenge we have in our souls influences every other part of our life.

What is the first thing you think when you walk into the gym? Is it “I’m incapable,” or “I’m not fit at all compared to all these other people?” Do you compare yourself to everyone else in the room or feed yourself unmotivating lies? The same exhaustion and self-deprecation that follow us around in life tends to follow us into the gym too, and most times, they tend to scream even louder. The enemy loves to get ahold of our insecurities and inflate them like a balloon as he sees us struggle, being afraid of the gym doors or the thought of even stepping on a treadmill. These are moments that the devil lives for, but also moments that do not have to be our reality.

One of my biggest struggles that God has grown me in over the years is learning to have a healthy outlook on my body. As a child, I was a bigger kid and I was very insecure about my weight. When I went to middle school I thinned out very quickly and my mindset from then on was “I have to stay this way”. Since then I have been pretty consistent in the gym all of high school and college. My main struggle has been having a healthy outlook about going to the gym and being healthy as well as controlling the number on the scale. It is a hard but vital struggle to learn to see your health as God sees it.

Just think of all the names that Jesus has. They’re sprinkled all over the Bible: Emmanuel, Light of the World, Messiah, Lamb of God, Bread of Life– Jesus’ names and titles can go on and on. Now just think: He is completely worthy of every single name.

Growing up, I know I truly found myself in Christ, but I could never get away from feeling extremely unworthy. This has been my struggle my whole life. Though my relationship with God has been strong, there are so many times I have found myself trying to find my worth in something other than my Savior.